Editing Lohengrin (opera) (section)

== Performance history ==
The first production of ''Lohengrin'' was in [[Weimar]], Germany, on 28 August 1850 at the [[Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar|Staatskapelle Weimar]] under the direction of [[Franz Liszt]], a close friend and early supporter of Wagner. Liszt chose the date in honour of Weimar's most famous citizen, [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], who was born on 28 August 1749.<ref>''[[Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', 5th ed., 1954{{Full citation needed|date=April 2020|reason=That's a big book.}}</ref> Despite the inadequacies of the lead tenor [[Karl Beck (tenor)|Karl Beck]],<ref>Wagner had written the Act III tenor monologue ''In fernem Land'' (the "Grail Narration") in two parts, however, he asked Liszt to cut the second part from the premiere performance, as he felt Karl Beck could not do it justice and it would result in an anticlimax. That unfortunate circumstance established the tradition of performing only the first part of the Narration.(see [http://www.peterbassett.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/An-introduction-to-Lohengrin.pdf Peter Bassett, "An Introduction to Wagner's ''Lohengrin'': A paper given to the Patrons and Friends of Opera Australia", Sydney 2001)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410080312/http://www.peterbassett.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/An-introduction-to-Lohengrin.pdf |date=10 April 2013 }}) In fact, the first time the second part was ever sung at the [[Bayreuth Festival]] was by [[Franz Völker]] during the lavish 1936 production, which [[Adolf Hitler]] personally ordered and took a close interest in, to demonstrate what a connoisseur of Wagner he was. (see [http://listserv.bccls.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0509A&L=OPERA-L&D=0&P=132160&F=P Opera-L Archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020044444/http://listserv.bccls.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0509A&L=OPERA-L&D=0&P=132160&F=P |date=20 October 2014 }})</ref> it was an immediate popular success.

Wagner himself was unable to attend the first performance, having been exiled because of his part in the 1849 [[May Uprising in Dresden]]. Although he conducted various extracts in concert in Zurich, London, Paris and Brussels, it was not until 1861 in Vienna that he was able to attend a full performance.<ref>Cesare Gertonani, writing in Teatro alla Scala programme for Lohengrin, December 2012, p. 90</ref>

The opera's first performance outside German-speaking lands was in [[Riga]] on 5 February 1855. The Austrian premiere took place in Vienna at the [[Theater am Kärntnertor]] on 19 August 1858, with [[Róza Csillag]] as Ortrud.<ref>[http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=wtz&datum=18580819&seite=1&zoom=33 Playbill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423144823/https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=wtz&datum=18580819&seite=1&zoom=33 |date=23 April 2021 }}, [[Austrian National Library]]</ref> The work was produced in Munich for the first time at the [[National Theatre Munich|National Theatre]] on 16 June 1867, with [[Heinrich Vogl]] in the title role and [[Mathilde Mallinger]] as Elsa. Mallinger also took the role of Elsa in the work's premiere at the [[Berlin State Opera]] on 6 April 1869.

''Lohengrin''{{'}}s Russian premiere, outside Riga, took place at the [[Mariinsky Theatre]] on 16 October 1868.
<!--Check the veracity of the following cast information to see if it refers to the 1873 performance in St. Petersburg (which was simply one act of Lohengrin), or to the premiere of the complete opera, which took place at the Mariinsky in 1868. The 1873 performance also included an act of Der Freischütz. It strains credulity to expect that the audience heard the entire Lohengrin plus 3 scenes of Boris Godunov plus 1 act of Der Freischütz:
''Lohengrin''{{'}}s Russian premiere took place at the [[Mariinsky Theatre]] on 5 February 1873 in a double billing with the premiere of three scenes from [[Modest Mussorgsky]]'s ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' (the Inn Scene, Scene in Marina's Boudoir, and Scene in the Garden of Mniszech's Castle). [[Eduard Nápravník]] conducted the performance with [[Fyodor Petrovich Komissarzhevsky]] as Lohengrin, [[Yuliya Platonova]] as Elsa, [[Daria Leonova]] as Ortrud and [[Osip Petrov]] as Heinrich der Vogler.
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The Belgian premiere of the opera was given at [[La Monnaie]] on 22 March 1870 with Étienne Troy as Friedrich von Telramund and Feliciano Pons as Heinrich der Vogler.<ref name="Amadeus">{{Almanacco|match=Lohengrin|label=Performance history of ''Lohengrin''}}</ref>

The United States premiere of ''Lohengrin'' took place at the [[Bowery Amphitheatre|Stadt Theater]] at the [[Bowery]] in New York City on 3 April 1871.<ref>[[Gustav Kobbé]], ''[[The Complete Opera Book]]'' (London: Putnam, 1929), p. 117. The first Academy performance was 23 March 1874 with [[Christina Nilsson]], Cary, [[Italo Campanini]] and del Puente (ibid.). See "Wagner in the Bowery", ''Scribner's Monthly Magazine'' 1871, 214–216; ''The New York Times'', [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/05/03/78998065.pdf Opera at the Stadt Theater] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423144821/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/05/03/78998065.pdf |date=23 April 2021 }}, 3 May 1871</ref> Conducted by [[Adolf Neuendorff]], the cast included Theodor Habelmann as Lohengrin, Luise Garay-Lichtmay as Elsa, Marie Frederici as Ortrud, Adolf Franosch as Heinrich and Edward Vierling as Telramund.<ref>''The New York Times'', [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/04/08/78763795.pdf "Wagner's ''Lohengrin''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423144822/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/04/08/78763795.pdf |date=23 April 2021 }}, 8 April 1871. See also Opera Gems.com, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170315203804/http://opera-gems.com/LOHENGRIN.htm ''Lohengrin'']}}</ref> The first performance in Italy took place seven months later at the [[Teatro Comunale di Bologna]] on 1 November 1871 in an Italian translation by operatic baritone {{ill|Salvatore Marchesi (musician)|qid=Q3946123|lt=Salvatore Marchesi}}. It was notably the first performance of any Wagner opera in Italy. [[Angelo Mariani (conductor)|Angelo Mariani]] conducted the performance, which starred [[Italo Campanini]] as Lohengrin, Bianca Blume as Elsa, Maria Löwe Destin as Ortrud, Pietro Silenzi as Telramund, and Giuseppe Galvani as Heinrich der Vogler.<ref name="Amadeus" /> The performance on 9 November was attended by [[Giuseppe Verdi]], who annotated a copy of the vocal score with his impressions and opinions of Wagner (this was almost certainly his first exposure to Wagner's music).<ref name=studi>{{Cite web|url=http://www.studiverdiani.it/verdi_en.html|title=Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani|access-date=26 January 2019|archive-date=11 January 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111181831/http://www.studiverdiani.it/verdi_en.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[La Scala]] produced the opera for the first time on 30 March 1873, with Campanini as Lohengrin, [[Gabrielle Krauss]] as Elsa, Philippine von Edelsberg as Ortrud, [[Victor Maurel]] as Friedrich, and Gian Pietro Milesi as Heinrich.<ref name="Amadeus"/>

The United Kingdom premiere of ''Lohengrin'' took place at the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, on 8 May 1875 using the Italian translation by Marchesi. [[Auguste Vianesi]] conducted the performance, which featured [[Ernesto Nicolini]] as Lohengrin, [[Emma Albani]] as Elsa, [[Anna D'Angeri]] as Ortruda, Maurel as Friedrich, and Wladyslaw Seideman as Heinrich. The opera's first performance in Australia took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre in [[Melbourne]] on 18 August 1877. The [[Metropolitan Opera]] mounted the opera for the first time on 7 November 1883, in Italian, during the company's inaugural season. Campanini portrayed the title role with [[Christina Nilsson]] as Elsa, Emmy Fursch-Madi as Ortrud, [[Giuseppe Kaschmann]] as Telramund, Franco Novara as Heinrich, and Auguste Vianesi conducting.<ref name="Amadeus"/>

[[File:Lohengrin 1885.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ludwig II of Bavaria]] portrayed as [[Lohengrin]] below a moon with Wagner's face. Brochure in ''Der Floh'', 1885.]]

''Lohengrin'' was first publicly performed in France at the [[Eden-Théâtre]] in [[Paris]] on 30 April 1887 in a French translation by [[Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter]]. Conducted by [[Charles Lamoureux]], the performance starred [[Ernest van Dyck]] as the title hero, [[Fidès Devriès]] as Elsa, Marthe Duvivier as Ortrud, Emil Blauwaert as Telramund, and Félix-Adolphe Couturier as Heinrich. There was however an 1881 French performance given as a Benefit, in the Cercle de la Méditerranée Salon at Nice, organized by [[Sophie Cruvelli]], in which she took the role of Elsa.<ref>[https://nice.city-life.fr/event.php?id=2769 Nice, muse et miroir d’inspiration musicale] (in French) Nice, 6 October 2017</ref> The opera received its Canadian premiere at the opera house in Vancouver on 9 February 1891 with [[Emma Juch]] as Elsa. The [[Palais Garnier]] staged the work for the first time the following 16 September with van Dyck as Lohengrin, [[Rose Caron]] as Elsa, Caroline Fiérens-Peters as Ortrud, [[Maurice Renaud]] as Telramund and Charles Douaillier as Heinrich.<ref name="Amadeus"/>

The first Chicago performance of the opera took place at the [[Auditorium Building]] (now part of [[Roosevelt University]]) on 9 November 1891. Performed in Italian, the production starred [[Jean de Reszke]] as the title hero, [[Emma Eames]] as Elsa and [[Édouard de Reszke]] as Heinrich.<ref name="Amadeus"/>

Lohengrin was first performed as part of the [[Bayreuth Festival]] in 1894, in a production directed by the composer's widow, [[Cosima Wagner]], with  {{ill|Willi Birrenkoven|de}} and [[Ernest van Dyck|Ernst van Dyck]], {{ill|Emil Gerhäuser|de}} alternating as Lohengrin, [[Lillian Nordica]] as Elsa, [[Marie Brema]] as Ortrud and Demeter Popovic as Telramund and was conducted by [[Felix Mottl]]. It received 6 performances in its first season in the opera house that Wagner built for the presentation of his works.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

A typical performance lasts from about 3 hours, 30–50 minutes.